Revolutionary Change

The people of Egypt scored a major victory today, having launched and executed a successful, peaceful revolution that resulted in the expulsion of their dictator president Hosni Mubarak.

The revolution -- a protest for freedom -- spoke volumes to me about the deep yearnings in every human heart to be free, and to exercise self determination. We literally watched the birth pains of a "new" nation, and it was incredible.

But of course, there comes responsibility with making that choice. And the entire world is nervously watching to see what will become of the state of government after the exuberance has subsided, and the protesters have returned to their jobs and homes.

It reminded me of the words Jesus spoke about what happens when an evil spirit is driven out of a person. If that person does not replace the presence of that evil spirit with the presence of God, the evil spirit returns, and gathers seven worse spirits to join in.

And the final condition of that man is worse than the first, Matt 12:45b says. That can happen after a country's people stage a revolution. And it can happen in our own lives.

What an upheaval it is when you or I make a decision to change poor behavior. With a made up mind, we expel that practice of disobedience, and commit ourselves being "better," sometimes not really knowing how that would happen.

But if, instead of just making a "new year's resolution," we surrender that area of disobedience to Christ, what a difference that can make. We can not only drive out that "evil spirit," we can replace it with a Holy Spirit strong enough to keep the allure of disobedience away.

That is true, revolutionary change.